I, Katarina Kirk
by LilyBelleMichele188
Summary: The night Acting Captain George Kirk died, he left behind a brokenhearted wife, an orphaned son and a traumatized daughter. Years later, Katarina serves as Ambassador and Instructor for Starfleet. Bitter and wishing to do distance herself from her family, Kat starts a new life away from all the pain of her past. Unfortunately the past has a way of catching up to people. Spock/OC
1. Chapter 1

(Hello all so this is a new fanfiction I worked on and decided I'd share. It is based off the new Star Trek movie franchise which I enjoyed and stars an OC Katarina Kirk who is Jim's older sister. I hope you enjoy though this is my first Star Trek fanfiction so I apologize if I got Spock's personality or any other technical details wrong. Happy Reading!)

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Part 1

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One night, a little baby boy were born to a doomed captain and his wife on board a federation escape shuttle which was then attempting to make its escape from the crumbling fortress known as the U.S.S Kelvin.

Then, one of the greatest starships Starfleet had ever known.

Captain George Kirk, recently promoted at the former Captain's death was struggling not to think about his wife or about the new baby she would soon bring into the world to raise along with their almost five year old daughter as he set all the necessary manual operatives on the quickly floundering vessel which he commanded.

His heart ached though as he looked ahead at the menacing attack ship before him. He thought about all the long spaceless years Winona and their children would have to spend in the future, alone without him to protect them.

Shaking himself, George started to set the final control when he heard it. The faint crackling sound of a baby's cry echoed by the cry of a child. He choked.

"What is it?" He asked voice cracking as he attempted to speak over the thundering noise of the warships. He strained his ears to catch the response through the defecting speakers of his comlink

"It's a boy...George we have a son!" Winona seemed both elated and dejected at the same time and George could easily guess the reason why.

"Well...what are we going to call him?" He asked, trying to keep his own voice level as he heard the muffled sounds of his daughter babbling over her new sibling. Winona remained silent for a minute.

"We could name him after your Father." She suggested tiredly. George let out a weak laugh at that. _She can't be serious._

"What? Tiberius? Are you kidding me? No! That's the worst! It's even worse than when I wanted to name Katy after your grandmother, do you remember that?" Winona chuckled weakly.

"Yeah...it was almost as bad as you deciding to nickname her Katy when it should be Kat." She giggled slightly.

George stifled his laugh. "Well, I'm going to do better. Let's name him after _your_ Dad this time. Let's call him Jim." He smiled for a moment almost forgetting that he wasn't in the same room as his wife and children.

The ship shook, dying under heavy fire. George turned to adjust a monitor as the ship's computer robotically reported the remaining distance between the Kelvin and the opposing ship.

In his mind he tried to picture his son and wished the Kelvin's visual transmitters were not destroyed so he could at least catch a glimpse of the boy before his last mission was completed.

"Jim..." Winona smiled, almost unconsciously as she stroked the top of her infant son's head with her fingertips. "Jim..." She repeated the name back to herself as if listening for a ring or a signal from above.

"Okay Jim it is then. Katarina, come here. What do you think of your new brother's name?" She turned to ask her daughter and George started to smile when he heard his little girl's response.

"Mommy? Where's Daddy? Is he going to meet us at home?" George reached for his hand held comlink.

"Katy? This is Daddy. Can you hear me, Baby?" He leaned towards the speakers even though they were quickly circuiting out and frying due to all the electrical damage done to the ship.

"Where are you, Daddy?" Katy's little voice crackled over the speakers making George feel warm for a second.

"Katy, I need you to listen to me for a second...Can you make me a promise Sweetheart?" He turned to glance at the tracking computer, gauging the distance between him and the attacking vessel before continuing.

"Can you promise Daddy you'll be a big girl now and take good care of your brother for me?"

He tightened his grip on the accelerators, waiting and straining his ears for his little girl's response before pulling on the switch.

"What do you mean, Daddy?" She asked, her voice suddenly soft and fearful as the baby continued weeping in the background. George bit his lip.

"I need you to promise me, Katy. Jimmy's going to need you and Mommy now so can you promise you'll take good care of them?" He held his breath and pushed the thrusters down slowly to meet their limits.

"I promise." Katarina's response came soft, shaky and unconfident. George knew as young as she was she knew something was wrong and it made his heart rip in two as he heard the fear echoing in his daughter's voice.

"George?" Winona's voice came back over the speakers. George snapped his chin forward.

"Sweetheart?" He leaned forward in his seat as the computer told him in her cool mechanical voice that he was nearing his collision target.

His heart started to race as he heard his daughter call out to him. "Katy, can you hear me?"

"George!" Winona's response came as a whimper. George clenched his jaw. "I love you both so much!...I love-." The communication disconnected and Winona let out a strangled cry as an explosion echoed into her ears.

Katarina looked confused. "Daddy?" She looked from the COMM to her Mother to the nurses in a questioning manner, but no one had a satisfactory answer for her. "Daddy!"

Her confusion quickly turned to fear. "Daddy!"

...

"No!" Kat woke with a start, nearly colliding head first into the overhanging light fixture when she bolted up in bed.

Her hands felt clammy and her face felt sticky with tears and perspiration. The time read barely 0300 in the morning.

Groaning, she rubbed her face with the palms of her hands trying to rid herself of the discomforting moisture and the clamminess before turning to slide off the edge of the bed, taking care not to make too much noise.

"Kat?" A soft prim voice drew her attention for a moment causing her to stop with one foot on the floor.

"I'm getting a drink." She murmured not wishing to worry her husband who despite his Vulcan heritage had a tendency to care overly much about her.

Not that she resented it in the least.

Some liked to argue that Spock as a Vulcan did not have the capacity to worry about anyone, much less show any kind of emotion, but Kat knew better.

"The dream?" Spock fixed his gaze on the back of Katarina's head, his eyebrows creasing ever so slightly at the tremor he saw racing through her body.

"No." Kat tensely set her other foot on the ground next to her left one and stood to leave the room, intending to escape to the bathroom for a minute to wash her face before getting a drink from the automatic water cooler.

"Katarina, please do not lie to me." Her husband's voice was stern yet caring at the same time. It made the young Chief of Intergalactic Relations smile a little despite herself.

"I'm sorry, Spock. I don't mean to shut you out it's just..." She trailed off and ran a hand awkwardly through her long tangled slightly damp hair, keeping her gaze on her feet.

Spock turned himself over when he heard her voice break, allowing the covers to slide off of his bare torso at the slight movement. "As my Mother would often say," He slowly slid out of the bed and shuffled noiselessly across the room to her.

"When I would feel reluctance in confiding in her...trust in me."

He looked down at the bare nape of her neck before gently running his fingers up the curve of her throat. Kat shivered as he bent down swiftly to kiss her, first on the neck then on her cheek and her forehead.

"I do trust you." She turned her head slightly to face him. Spock raised an eyebrow.

"Do you?" He cupped her chin gently with the slender palm of his hand. His gaze was expressionless, but Kat could hear the gentle longing ebbing in the soft timbre of his voice.

"You know I do." She stroked the base of his chin, feeling the soft almost marble like quality of her husband's skin as Spock suddenly withdrew his hands from her body.

"Then why do you continually insist on dealing with your sleep disturbances alone?" His voice turned suddenly serious and resentful.

Kat sighed and averted her gaze. "Because it's hard." She bit her lip and turned her face towards his other shoulder. "No one's been able to make them stop. Not the doctors. Nobody."

Spock frowned and wrapped his arms protectively around his wife. "If I could find a way..." He started to speak.

Kat shook her head. "Just hold me." She cut him off and threw herself suddenly into his arms. Spock started at her sudden movement then sighed as he felt her shaking against his body.

"Very well." He slowly stroked his hands against the small of her back and rested his chin in her hair as she clung to him.

"I love you." Kat shut her eyes and pressed a soft tingling kiss to the Vulcan's collarbone as the night wore on.

Spock barely suppressed a shiver though the worry overruled any human response to her gesture and remained dominant in his tone. "As I do you."

...


	2. Chapter 2

(Chapter 2. I own nothing but Kat. Hope you enjoy!)

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Part 2

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"The Slushicle mix." Kat whispered to Uhura right before the bartender could beat her to it. She pushed her own untasted glass of bourbon back across the counter before getting up to leave the pub.

"The slushicle mix. Thank you Dr. Kirk." Uhura smiled gratefully at her friend and superior as she passed the order to the waiting bartender.

Kat barely smiled back. "No problem. Don't stay out too long." She got up dropping a few extra bills on the table before turning to head for the door.

"Are you all right, Dr. Kirk?" The bartender glanced at the Officer worriedly for a second before reached to clean away the drinks.

Kat started to smile back, fully prepared to excuse herself on the usual complaint of exhaustion and stress when she saw him stumble towards the bar.

"That's a lot of drinks for two girls, ain't it?" A familiar voice boomed in her ear. Kat wrinkled her nose when she smelled the alcohol reeking from his breath.

"It's for a party, genius and I wasn't invited so you can get lost before I call the authorities on you." Kat turned to stare at the newcomer with a dangerous look on her face.

Both the young man and the bartender who had been serving Katarina looked taken aback by her sudden change in demeaner.

"What? You don't recognize me, Katy? It hasn't been that long, right?" He hiccuped and almost knocked over his stool as he attempted to sit on it.

Kat glared at his casualness. "My name is not Katy." She crossed her arms. "And no, I don't recognize the drunk who thinks that ten years hasn't been that long." She turned to stalk out of the bar when the boy called after her.

"Oh come on! I'm not that drunk." He leaned on the counter. "Who's the pretty veal cake you were drinking with? Is she single?" He asked. Kat rolled her eyes.

"Actually she's not. You'd best stop wasting your time, Jim. Or else I'll call Mom and tell her you're out getting drunk again instead of looking for a job." She motioned for Uhura to leave the area.

"I still have her number, you know and I know she hasn't changed it." She reached into her uniform pocket for her cellular communicating device as if to threaten her brother with it.

The boy grinned back at her. "So you _do_ remember me then." He laughed and got up clumsily from his stool using his dirty hands to wipe his face. "Johnny didn't tell you about the car crash?"

Kat dropped the communicator. "What car crash?"

"Your drinks Miss." The bartender set a couple of glasses of clear white cherry martini down in front of Uhura. Jim moved to take the tab when Kat failed to respond.

"Her shots are on me. I know her friend." He patted Kat before searching through his jacket for his wallet. Kat shook her head.

"Actually her shot's on Gaila. What car crash?" She walked back over to the bar and shot Jim with the most venomous look she could manage. Jim hardly reacted.

"The one that got Mom and the dirt bag killed last Saturday. Seriously, no one contacted you?" He hiccuped and turned to hit on a girl sitting to his left while Uhura gaped at her Professor.

Kat paled and turned to run out of the pub without retrieving her communicator or offering to help Uhura carry the drinks.

"Wait! Katarina!" Uhura called after her, but Kat did not stop nor did she respond.

"This Townie isn't bothering you, is he Uhura?" A cadet known as Clyde puffed into Uhura's ear just as the door clinked shut after the flustered Officer.

Uhura grinned to hide her panic and bent to retrieve Kat's COMM from the floor. "Him? Nah! Beyond belief actually, but it's nothing I can't handle. You best be on your way, Bonner." She grabbed the drinks and turned to leave the room.

Jim smirked as if he didn't notice the four meaty guys standing directly behind him with Clyde. "You can handle me anytime, Baby." He picked up a mug and took a long slurp from its contents.

"Hey! You better mind your manners Farm Boy! Cause we can clean you up real good if you can't!" Clyde snapped, knocking Jim's drink straight out of his hand.

Jim rolled his eyes at the threat. "Oh relax Cupcake! It was just a joke." He drawled and drunkenly patted him on the shoulder. "Now where'd Katy go? I didn't finish telling her..." He tripped and Uhura cringed as he bumped into a couple sitting at a table right behind him.

"Hey!" Clyde grabbed Jim roughly by the back of his motorcycle jacket nearly making him lose his balance as the couple behind them shrieked.

"Maybe you can't count, but there are four of us here and only one of you! Don't get cocky." He nodded back at his buddies.

One grinned nastily at Jim and cracked his knuckles, but Jim was too drunk to be worried. Uhura bit her lip. "Guys knock it off. You're all drunk and so is he." She tried to ward off the confrontation, but her pleas were falling on deaf ears.

"So get some more guys then and it'll be an even fight." Jim patted Clyde again this time on the cheek. Clyde felt face turned red at the gesture.

"Hey!" He grabbed Jim by the back of his arm.

Uhura tried to stop him, but he punched him flat in the face before she could interfere knocking him straight back into a table, upsetting the people's drinks.

Jim recovered quickly though and turned to return the favor, but since he was drunk the gang quickly overpowered him. Soon the crowd quit drinking and gambling and turned to watch as Clyde and two of his goons pinned Jim to an unused table setting him wide open to a punishing beating.

The music even stopped and several bystanders left to search for the authorities while the bartenders retreated to the kitchen.

Uhura looked the most frightened out of everyone, but she finally summoned up enough courage to step in after a few of her friends walked in looking for her and noticed the brawl.

"Clyde!...Guys! He's had enough!" Uhura tried to shout over the noise of the crowd, but no one was listening to her. A shrill whistle suddenly cut through the air and Clyde stopped mid punch when he recognized the sound.

"Captain Pike!" Uhura blanched when she saw who was standing in the main entrance flanked by a few lower standing officials from Starfleet.

Captain Pike ignored her. "Outside! All of you!" He ordered glaring at Clyde before shifting his gaze about the room. "Now!" Everyone scrambled to comply.

The only one who didn't move was Jim who was left bleeding quite profusely from his nose after Clyde dropped him on the table.

Captain Pike slowly made his way across the room to him, his gaze softening instantly. "You all right, Son?" He asked, recognizing something slightly familiar about the boy.

Jim spit out a tooth. "You can whistle really loud, you know that?" He slurred. Captain Pike snorted.

"How much have you had to drink?" He reached over to give the young man a hand up from the table and Jim gratefully accepted it.

"Just a few." He stumbled sideways again the minute Captain Pike released his grip, but he managed to catch himself on the bar before he threw up.

Pike and the Bartender grimaced. "What's your name, Son?" He turned to grab some napkins from a nearby abandoned table as the bartender turned to get a bucket and a rag.

Jim sniffed. "His name's Kirk. Jim Kirk. He's a local. Makes a mess here every night in my establishment. It's nothing new." The bartender grumbled as he cleaned up the vomit puddle on his bar.

Captain Pike gaped at him at that. "Kirk, you say?" He returned his gaze to Jim.

"You wouldn't happen to be related to Katarina Kirk by any chance?" He set his hands on his hip. Jim smiled sloppily. "What didn't she ever tell you about me?" He collapsed into a stool and grimaced when his nose started to throb.

Pike joined him and offered him the napkins. "No. Kat never talks about her family. Of course, she never fooled me for an instant. The Kirk gene is hard to suppress." He smiled and leaned lightly on his elbow against the counter.

"You look just like your Father, you know that?" Jim laughed bitterly at that. "You knew my Father too?" He asked. He rolled up a couple of the napkins and stuck them into his nostrils very delicately.

Pike nodded.

"Yes. He was a great man. I wrote my disertation on him after he died protecting 800 people on the U.S.S. Kelvin. Including you and Mother and Sister if I remember." Captain Pike grabbed a bottle, which Jim had been drinking from earlier and poured two shot glasses.

Jim rolled his eyes. "Yeah. My Mom was never the same after he died or so I was told. All I know is that she got really depressed then she got re-married to a drunkard off the streets eventually chasing Kat away when she was fifteen. Never really saw her again after that until tonight." He reached to take a shot glass.

Pike raised an eyebrow. "And you were still able to recognize her after all this time?" He seemed curious. Jim shrugged.

"Well, She never came home after she got admitted to that boarding school, but up until she graduated and signed on to the Academy she sent letters and pictures home for Mom to see. She really hasn't changed much since her last message you know?" He gulped down his drink.

Pike smiled sadly. "I guess not. Did you know that your sister got married while she was at Starfleet?" He raised his glass to his lips to take a sip as Jim raised an eyebrow.

"Really? To who?" He leaned closer to the Captain. Pike shrugged. "I don't think she'd want me to tell. Kat you know, likes to keep her personal life personal and I respect her for that." He finished his glass and slid it across the counter.

Jim sighed. "It's because she hates us." He muttered and finished his drink. Captain Pike frowned. "Why would you say that?" He asked as if shocked.

Jim snorted. "I don't know...because I'm a drunk like my Stepfather was. Johnny was the only one who tried to protect us, but he left for miltary school when I was six. And Mom? Well she's the one who married the dirtbag in the first place." He closed his fist tightly around the remaining napkin.

Pike stared at the ground. "I see...that explains so much." He said the last part more to himself than to Jim. Jim coughed and reached for an empty shot glass. "What?"

"Nothing." Captain Pike shook his head. "I should be getting back to the academy. Got to give those boys a talking to and make sure the others are all right. It was quite the brawl you started you know." He started to get up from his stool and stopped though Jim barely gave him a second glance.

"I didn't start it."

"Why don't you come with me?" Captain Pike cut him off. Jim choked on his spit. "Excuse me?"

"Sign up for Starfleet. Tomorrow a transport shuttle will be picking up potential trainees and if you're anything like your Father was I know we'll be able to use you." Pike turned slightly on his heel to gauge the younger man's reaction.

"Plus, it may give you the chance to catch up with your sister properly after all this time you guys spent away from each other."

Jim scoffed at the idea. "Yeah I don't think Kat would be too thrilled to see me." He absently grabbed an empty shot glass.

Pike chuckled. "You think? She might change her mind if you sober up and find something other than brawling to occupy your time." He turned to walk out of the pub.

Jim did not respond. As Pike reached the door and he stopped to glance over his shoulder. "By the way, the shuttle leaves at 0800 sharp tomorrow morning so if you decide to join, don't be late." He smiled, pleased to see Jim looking a bit more thoughtful now as he swirled his glass in his hand.

"Don't worry. I won't."

...


	3. Chapter 3

(Here's Chapter 3. :) I hope you're enjoying it so far. If not. If I need to take this down and do some intense rewriting please let me know as nicely as is possible haha. I own nothing but Kat. Hope you enjoy!)

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Part 3

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"Aren't you going to meet the new recruits today?" Spock conversationally questioned his wife when he came upon her in her office the next morning seemingly kept busy by her students' Alien Culture Essays.

Kat had hardly spoken a word to him or to anyone since she came home last night from the bar and Spock, despite his usual calm and seemingly emotionless state of mind was worried about her.

Especially since his wife never frequented the pub.

"Yes. Right after I file these essays and finalize a meeting I have with a student concerning her thesis assignment." Kat frowned and nudged her chair aside with her foot before turning to head out the door.

Spock did not budge to let her pass. "Kat." He took a step towards her to keep her from leaving the room. "Please tell me what is interfering with your usual calm sense of mind." His voice was flat and he spoke in his usual prim logical sense of speech, but Kat could hear the slight tinge of emotion that to her always coated every word he spoke to her.

"Later. We have work to do." Her answer came soft and barely audible, but Spock picked it up. "No. Now." He reached up and restrained her by her arm keeping her from leaving as she attempted to slip right by him. "Let me be of assistance."

Kat gave him a tight lipped smile that neither comforted or assuaged her husband's worry. "I'll be all right." She gently wrenched herself free from the Vulcan's grasp and hurried to steady a stack of small PADDs she held under her arm.

"I promise, we'll talk once our duties for the day are over. I will make dinner."

Spock sighed and suppressed the emotions that coursed through him before turning to follow after her.

"May at least accompany you to the administrative offices?" He reached to take her hand and squeezed it before releasing his grip. Kat smiled at the gesture. "I'd like that very much, Mr. Spock." She took his hand and squeezed it before releasing her grip again.

Spock uttered a ghost of a smile.

...

"So many." Kat barely breathed as she watched the shuttles empty below her. Most of the people looked nervous though some wore blank expressions and a few fidgeted as various Starfleet officers shifted them into place in line.

"Not exactly the most promising in appearance." Spock lightly flexed his shoulders as he followed his wife's gaze down at the new recruits.

Kat emitted a smirk and lightly jabbed the Vulcan with her fist."Was I so promising to you when I first arrived at the Academy?" She let her arms rest at her sides.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you raise a valid point." His lips twitched into what could have been a smile, but Kat couldn't be sure.

All the same she jabbed him again playfully.

"All right! At ease Ladies and Gentleman! My name is Lieutenant Carpenter and on behalf of Starfleet I welcome you to the Academy! Please answer and raise your hand when I call your name. Zeflin, Charmar?" An officer dressed in plain grey uniform read from the top of a long list compiled to his PADD.

Kat and Spock just listened in silence for awhile as the names were called and responses floated about the hall.

"Kirk...James Tiberius!" Lieutenant Carpenter shifted his gaze quickly from the PADD back to the crowd as he read the name.

Kat gasped as a long muscular arm poked its way over the top of a blonde haired girl's head near the back of the room. "Here!"

"Kirk?" Spock turned to set his gaze back on Katarina. Kat just shook her head. "What is he doing here?" She wondered more to herself than to her husband.

Spock shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps, he was inspired to join by your work here." He suggested cheerfully, but this time Kat did not share his cheer.

"I never sent him any messages after I found out he was visiting whore houses and paying them for services." She bit her lip and turned away from the crowd.

"Just to my Mother and she is dead now." Her voice fell into a whisper.

Spock's eyebrows sky rocketed to the top of his forehead. "She is dead?" His voice broke slightly and Kat flinched when she heard him repeat her words.

"Yes."

"When?" He turned his attention away from the cadets. "Why did you not speak of this before?" His gaze pierced into the solemnity of Kat's stare.

"Because it was too hard last night." Kat shrugged and averted her gaze. "Jim was drunk when he told me, but I know that it's true. He said she was killed last week and that was the last time I heard from her." She clenched her jaw and squeezed the railing beneath her hand.

Spock frowned and leaned subtly to be closer to his wife. "I am sorry." He lowered his voice. "If there is any way that I may be of some consolation to you, please let me know." He studied her watery gaze seemingly with a studious intent.

Kat shook her head. "You are already being a consolation." She reassured him. "Just by being here and caring for me, you are giving me everything I need to function right now." She smiled slightly and reached hesitantly to interlace her fingers with his again.

Spock basked her gesture. "Perhaps in view of these circumstances it would be wise to take a leave absence from Starfleet." He spoke in a soft dull whisper that as usual was devoid of any outer emotion.

"We could seek to take a voyage to Vulcan and visit my Mother and Father in the Capitol. There you may find it easier to recuperate your emotions before undertaking anymore strenuous assignments. A Starfleet Officer-."

"Is only as good as her state of mind. I know, Spock." Kat cut him off, sighing as the new recruits began to disperse in small groups to find their lodging areas.

Spock remained attentive to his spouse.

"I can't afford to take a leave of absence right now. I have classes to teach here and cadets to mentor. There just isn't time for me to just leave simply because I may be emotionally compromised." Kat sighed and borrowed some of her husband's way of speaking as she sometimes did when speaking with him intimately.

Spock inclined his head as if agreeing with her silently. "While I agree, I can arrange for things to be taken care of in your stead. For your case especially I'd happy to be do so." He spoke softly while turning to leave the entrance area. Kat followed him.

"You...happy?" She teased him slightly despite the situation. The corner of Spock's lip twitched barely noticeably at her jibe. "I was merely attempting to use some of your favored vernacular in order to bring across a certain idea." He seemed a little defensive.

Kat let out a laugh as they walked out of the corridor. "I know." She walked up and lightly brushed a piece of lint from Spock's uniform. "I like to use yours too from time to time."

Spock raised an eyebrow at her at that.

...

"Ambassador Kirk! It is great to have you again. Commander Spock, as well." Lieutenant Carpenter respectfully bent at the waist saluting his superiors as they gracefully disembarked from the shuttle together.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I trust my students haven't been too much trouble for the past few weeks." Kat smiled, her eyes glowing with a vitality that had been missing from her in the days before she took her leave of absence.

"No Ambassador, all except for your brother. He skipped class again today." The Lieutenant barely kept himself from rolling his eyes though Kat took it well humoredly.

"Why am I not surprised? Don't worry Lieutenant I will speak with him. Spock?" She turned to address her husband and he nodded back to her.

"As you were, Lieutenant." He nodded at the officer who bowed again before turning to attend to his other duties.

...

"Kat! Hey! When did you get in? I tried to sneak out to meet you, but the Professor caught me crawling out the doorway." Jim grinned, his freshly pressed Starfleet Cadet uniform swishing as he walked towards her.

Kat suppressed a smile. "0200 hours ago. Why did you sign up for Alien Cultures if you were just going to skip every lecture my sub was instructed to give?" She crossed her arms.

Jim mimicked her posture. "Who is this husband I heard you married a couple years ago without telling anybody? Why wasn't I invited to the wedding?" He ignored her question.

Kat shook her head at him. "Because there was no "wedding". We went through the ceremonial rituals at a Officiatory House off planet so we wouldn't have to compromise our positions on a mission we were both involved in at the time." She dug her fingernails into her elbow.

"Besides you and Mom _were_ invited so don't start with that." She started to walk past him, but Jim had longer legs than her so he caught up to her easily.

"What do you mean _were_?" He almost snarled.

Kat stopped walking and whirled around so fast, Jim felt the ends of her hair sting against his face.

"You really don't remember? You didn't show because you were too hungover at Ashlyn's or Jessica's whatever and Mom was too busy trying to convince me to forgive Charlie again to really care that I had finally found happiness!"

Jim winced as if Kat had just slapped him across the face. "Oh yeah...look Kat-."

"Just get the reading done for class tomorrow. I won't be teaching till day after next since I'm overseeing the Kobi Yashi test, but I still expect you to be there fully prepared for discussion." Kat cut him off and turned to walk away down the hall.

"Oh!...And leave Uhura alone." She tacked on at the last minute.

Jim fell silent for a second.

"What's his name?" He called after her, returning to his old smart allick self.

Kat pretended not to hear him.

...

"What are you so happy about?" A cross looking brown haired man scowled in Jim's direction as they left basic training class together along with a slew of other young cadets.

"Why wouldn't I be happy, Bones? I get to retake the Kobi Yashi Maru test again this time with Kat supervising." Jim grinned as he skipped down the last steps. Bones felt his jaw drop the floor.

"Are you serious? Why?"

"Well I'm sure Kat pulled a few strings-."

"No! I mean WHY in the bloody blue h*** are you taking the Kobi Yashi Maru again? No one in their right mind ever goes back for seconds on that exam, let alone a third!" Bones cut him off.

Jim didn't answer him right away. "Hey! How's it going!" He nodded and grinned at a particularly attractive female cadet as she and her friend walked by him.

"Jim! Stop trying to pick up girls and answer me, G**D*** it!" Bones gave his best friend a sound whap in the head with the case belonging to his PADD between his hands.

Jim staggered slightly from the blow and turned to wince at the Med student before rubbing the spot on his forehead.

"Ow! Why do you have to hit so hard?" He complained. Bones shot him a look, that if looks alone could kill would have sent Jim to the netherworld three seconds ago.

"Fine. I'm trying to get Kat to talk to me. Happy?" Jim dropped his arm and turned to storm annoyedly away from the building where most of the classrooms in Starfleet were located.

Bones followed. "Still? You mean she's still shutting you out? Even after you actually paid attention in class the other day and brought in one of her best students to be your co-pilot during your last exam?" He shifted his PADD between his hands.

Jim let out a stiff irritated sigh.

"She won't tell me anything, Bones. Not who her husband is, nothing! It's like she thinks I'm as bad as Charlie so she doesn't want anything to do with me!" Jim raised a fist and punched open the doors to the dormitory.

"Either that or this is still about Mom." He grumbled slightly under his breath.

The loud bang that ensued succeeded in startling both of the young men who were lounging in the foyer area at the moment watching a game on television.

"Well...not to be insensitive, but you kind of earned it from her. I mean, going to get drunk at fifteen?...Missing her sixteenth birthday to go back some chick you just picked up at the fuel station?...Spending time with prostitutes instead of attending her wedding and hitting-."

"Hey THAT was an accident and she knows that already!" Jim kicked his boots off the second his I.D. card granted him entrance to his room.

Bones held up his arms defensively. "I'm just saying. This is a messy divide and if you want to fix it and make her trust you again it's going to take more than just a few half-a**ed attempts to impress her during class."

He turned to shed his jacket and strolled to the kitchen to grab a drink. Jim sighed. "What do you suggest I do?" He asked, wearily plopping on his bed before grabbing the remote.

Bones shrugged. "How about an apology gift? Flowers maybe congratulating her on her marriage? That's sure to get her attention at least for a little bit. Who knows? She might even bump up your grade in Cultures class." He joked, taking a sip of his beer and swallowing it before coming to join Jim in the in front of the TV.

Jim turned his attention back to the Med student at that statement. "Yeah right. I'd have more of a chance by passing the Kobi Yashi Maru exam? You know it's rumored to be unbeatable by program." He grinned and turned to make himself more comfortable on the bed.

Bones kept his attention on the television. "Or is it?" He kept his tone ominous as he lifted the can for a second sip of beer.

Jim furrowed his eyebrows together.

...

"He's back." Lieutenant Carpenter sing-songed as Spock and Kat entered the observatory platform above the simulation chamber where the Kobi Yashi Maru exams were held.

Kat suppressed a groan when she saw which cadet was sitting in the "Captain's Chair" below.

"Really? Again? Just how many more mornings do I have to put up with this?" She pulled up a crew chart on a monitor and quickly scanned the list of names indicating Jim's test partners before minimizing the window.

"It appears he has chosen to bring Lieutenant Uhura with him again for this attempt." Spock observed quietly folding his arms behind his back. "A most astute choice for the test crew."

Kat straightened from the control station. "I don't care WHO he brought, this needs to stop. This isn't making me want to talk to him." She turned and nodded for Lieutenant Carpenter to begin the simulation.

Spock merely raised an eyebrow at his wife. "Perhaps in light of the circumstances, it would be prudent at this point to confront him, Dr. Kirk." He spoke, using her Instructor's title which he always did while they were at work.

Kat shook her head. "No way. This doesn't change anything. He's still picking up girls everyday between classes and I caught him just yesterday trying to sneak two of them to his dorm last night." She wrinkled her nose in disgust and leaned over to observe the test platform.

"He's lucky I didn't report him to the Lodging Master."

Spock quietly leaned over to do the same, but across the observatory from her.

"What is he doing?" Lieutenant Carpenter frowned, confused as he enlarged a webcam reading of the testers on his computer.

Kat peered at the group. "Oh my God! Is he not taking this test seriously anymore? Honestly! How am I related to this joker?" She slammed her palm on an unencumbered surface of the control panel as the simulation continued.

Lieutenant Carpenter just shrugged.

"He's not doing anything." One of the test monitors suddenly went rigid in his seat as his readouts showed that the simulation battleship was at 10% shield capacity.

Kat sighed and shook her head dismissively before straightening to a full standing position.

Spock frowned as the red lights glared through the window reflecting off of his pale marble like face. His gaze was fixed subtly on Kat, taking note of every dark line that encircled the under side of her eyelids.

She was exhausted and despite her attempts to hide it, Spock's suspicions were confirmed when she turned to stifle a yawn rubbing at her eyes in a manner that indicated she was worn out.

He started to address her knowing that her continuing nightmares, seemingly worsened by her Mother's passing were keeping her from getting the rest she needed when one of the test overseers interrupted the moment.

"Whoa! What's happening?" The Lieutenant started to panic when the power suddenly shut off in the middle of the exam covering everyone in the observatory platform and the simulation chamber below in complete darkness.

Spock and Kat looked up simultaneously at each other as the frantic voices of the technicians filled the room.

"Strange." Spock murmured half to himself and half to Kat.

Kat remained silent as Lieutenant Carpenter attempted to contact the Chief Electrical Engineer using his personal portable COMM. Spock meanwhile turned to address one of the mechanics who was in the room.

"Lieutenant, please engage the emergency power unit." He ordered, not wanting the examination to be halted any further from this point.

The young woman before him started to nod and turned to look for the hatch into the power chamber when the lights flickered back on and the hum of the machinery filled the observatory.

Stunned and momentarily disoriented, the test monitors quickly scrambled to pull up the test readouts on the computer while Kat leaned back towards the window.

"Holy Chizz!" One of the monitor hissed before swiveling in his chair to face Spock. "Sir! You're going to want to see this!" He motioned to the screen and Spock leaned forward over the screen.

"Oh my God!" Kat breathed at the same time Spock finished scanning the readout. He straightened instantly and crossed the room to join Kat at the window.

"He's successfully destroyed and incapacitated all enemy warships securing the rescue of the Kobi Yashi fleet." He murmured clearly not pleased despite the magnitude of Jim's accomplishment.

Kat shook her head. "He passed the test!...How did he do that, Spock? You said it was unwinnable." She turned to question the Commander.

Spock merely inclined his head. "I do not know." He turned immediately on his heel to leave the observatory as the exam proctor called for the test to close out.

Kat sighed as she heard the muffled cheers coming from below. "Something's not right." She shook her head and turned to address one of the test monitors, bending over the screen of his computer as she did so.

"Lieutenant, please bring up a complete readout of today's test progress."

...


	4. Chapter 4

(Chapter 4. :) I own nothing but Kat. Hope you enjoy!)

...

Part 4

...

"Jim Kirk. Will you please rise and approach the defendant's stand?" Jim suppressed a sigh and stood reluctantly from his seat, avoiding all eyes save for Bones as he made his way to the small podium set on the right hand side of the court room.

"Cadet Kirk, evidence has been submitted to this council suggesting that you violated the ethical code of conduct persuant to regulation 17.43 of the Starfleet code." The Head of the Academic Honor Council continued to speak as Jim approached the stand, the small microphone barely tickling the under side of his chin.

"Cadet Kirk, is there anything you'd like to say for yourself before we begin?" The calm calculating man softly inclined his body higher in his seat as he awaited the younger man's response.

Jim took this opportunity to softly clear his throat before responding. "Yes Sir. I believe I have the right to face my accuser or accusers directly?" He shifted his weight from one foot to the together anxiously.

A soft rustle caught his attention and Jim turned his attention away from the Council just as the Head Chairman motioned with his arm to the right side of the auditorium.

His soft blue grey eyes met the cold emotionless stare of the Vulcan Science Instructor who stood quietly from his seat, straightening his tunic before descending down the stairs.

Behind him, Jim saw that his sister was glaring at him, her arms crossed severly across her chest while her foot tapped in mid air. He quickly averted his gaze.

...

"This is Commander Spock. He is one of our most distinguished graduates. He's programmed the Kobi Yashi Maru for the last four years." Admiral Komack spoke in his usual clipped voice as Spock made his way to the stand directly to the left of Jim's position.

Kat clenched her jaw as she watched the frustration flicker in her younger brother's eyes for a minute.

"Cadet Kirk," Spock began without pause and with no break in his voice as usual. "You have somehow managed to install and activate a sub routine in the programming code thereby changing the conditions of the test as brought to my attention by the test's Head Administrator Dr. Katarina Kirk."

Jim squirmed slightly at this revelation. "Your point being?" He asked trying to sound unconcerned, but his expression betrayed him to the council.

"An academic vernacular. You cheated." Komack cut in, fixing the cadet with a serious stare. The crowd began to murmur.

"Well let me ask you something, I think we all know the answer to," Jim continued without meeting the gaze of the Vulcan next to him.

"The test itself is a cheat, is it not? I mean you specifically programmed it to be unwinnable, if I'm not mistaken." He fixed his gaze at the front of the room.

Spock inclined his head in a confident manner at Jim's short speech. "Your argument precludes the possibility of a no win scenario."

"No, I don't believe in no win scenarios." Jim quickly rebuffed his retort. Kat straightened in her seat.

"Then not only did you violate the rules, you also failed to learn the principle lesson of the exam." Spock remained calm though Kat could sense he was getting slightly irritated by the slight incline of his tone and the way his arms stiffened behind his back.

"Please enlighten me." Jim invited though his tone held more insolence than reverence.

"You of all people should know, Cadet Kirk. A Captain cannot cheat death." Spock spoke the words calmly despite the magnitude of their meaning to the Cadet and to his wife sitting behind him.

Kat dug her nails into the arm of her seat. _I told him not to go there._ She hissed silently to herself while the room started buzzing again.

Jim clearly was affected by Spock's remark as well, but as per usual he attempted not to show it. "I of all people." He muttered, the break only barely audible in his voice.

"Your Father, Lieutenant George Kirk assumed command of his vessel shortly before being killed in battle, did he not?" Spock continued as if nothing were wrong.

Kat felt a tremble shimmer through her body.

_"Daddy, where are you?" *Crash*_

_ "Sweetheart, I can't be with you right now! Can you hear me?" _

_ "Time to Destination in ten seconds." _

"I don't think you like the fact that I beat your test." Jim fired back eliciting a response equal to the ferocity of his own to his Vulcan superior.

"Furthermore in your ill respect for our programs you have failed to divine the exact purpose of the test." Spock fixed the Cadet with a most severe gaze.

This time Jim was barely fazed. "Enlighten me again." He almost growled.

"Hey!...Dr. Kirk, are you all right?" One of the senior cadets seated closest to the instructor leaned over and tapped on Kat's slightly shaking shoulder. Kat gave no response.

_"Katy, listen to me! I can't be with you so I need you to promise me something...!" _

_ *crackle*_

_ "Daddy!"_

_ "I love you both so much!..I love-!*_

"The purpose is to experience fear," Spock began, his gaze now fixed intently on the stubborn cadet.

"Fear in the face of certain death. To accept that fear while maintaining control of oneself and one's crew. This is a quality expected every Starfleet Captain, Cadet Kirk and one the Kobi Yashi Maru was specifically designed to test."

"Dr. Kirk!" The Cadet gently shook Kat again and this time she reacted, gasping almost too audibly as if she were waking from another nightmare. Only this time, she wasn't dreaming. She wasn't at home and Spock wasn't there to shake the horrible visions out of her mind.

"I'm fine." She hastily brushed her student's arm away just as Spock turned his gaze sharply over his shoulder.

For a second, Kat thought he had heard her gasp, but at that exact moment the doors behind her slid open and a young officer dressed in a Starfleet Security Guard's uniform briskly walked across the hall holding a PADD in his hand.

"Excuse me, Admiral." He placed the device on the Head Councilman's desk then bowed stiffly before excusing himself from the room.

Komack glanced at it briefly before looking up to address the entire room from his seat. "We've recieved a distress call from Vulcan and with our primary fleet engaged in the Lorentian system I hereby order all cadets to report to Hanger One immediately. Court dismissed!"

The gavel sounded and the room quickly began to empty. Kat stood quickly as the tightness in her chest continued to inhibit her ability to behave normally. She stumbled slightly and almost lost her balance when Spock turned his gaze swiftly back to her again from the ground level of the auditorium.

Flushing, Kat turned just as swiftly to leave the room missing the look of concern he shot her inconspicuously from his position.

"My own sister turns me in." Jim growled, not moving from his spot as Spock quickly vacated the premises following the other officers and cadets.

"Well what'd you expect?" Bones came up behind him. "She's an Instructor and the Test's main administrator. Plus she hates you." He shrugged.

Jim just scowled at him. "Not helping, Bones."

...

"Ambassador Kirk, are you all right?" Dr. Ferrell stood immediately erect upon noticing the young Starfleet Officer's quick and abrupt entrance in the Sick Bay.

"I'm fine, Dr. Ferrell. I just need a quick physical diagnostic scan. Please check specifically for any signs of an abnormal respiratory condition." She quickly placed herself on a bio bed, fumbling with the restraining straps before the nurse could get to her.

Dr. Ferrell frowned as he watched the young woman gasp for air beside him.

"Have your symptoms been persistant, Ambassador Kirk?" He moved to retreive the proper equipment from a table. "When did you first have trouble breathing?" He bent to run a basic vital scan.

"Just for a few minutes ago during the Academic Hearing at the court." Kat breathed as the doctor quickly finished the scan. "They usually occur after one of my nightmares, but today it just started... out of nowhere." She attempted to take a deep breath.

"I see." Dr. Ferrell nodded as he turned to record the results into his patient's medical file. "I will try and make this quick then, Dr. Kirk. I know you must have been assigned to report for immediate duty concerning the distress call from Vulcan." He picked up another device just as Kat took another shallow breath.

"Yes, thank you, Dr. Ferrell." She thanked him gratefully. Dr. Ferrell nodded his head.

...

"Well, it seems your respiratory functions are perfectly uninhibited. Everything is checking out as normal except for your anxiety level." Dr. Ferrell put away the probe after completing a final scan on his patient.

Kat narrowed her eyes at his diagnosis. "Anxiety?" She took another shallowly inhaled breath.

"Yes, I'll have a prescription written out for you immediately for anti-anxiety drops. They should help with the panic attacks given a few minutes after oral consumption." Dr. Ferrell licked his lips nervously before turning to enter the information into a medical report.

"As for the sleep disturbances, I can only suggest that you continue meeting with Dr. Manner regularly in the Psychology Department." He stood from his chair.

Kat rolled her eyes at that. "Great." She started to unstrap herself when the Doctor stopped her. "Wait Ambassador, there is one more thing the scanner picked up." He looked up from his PADD with a slight smile.

"According to these readouts Dr. Kirk, you are currently carrying a three week old fetus. Congratulations." He looked up to meet the Starfleet Officer's eyes expecting for her to become excited.

Instead Kat just blanched.

"Excuse me?"

...


	5. Chapter 5

(Chapter 5. :) I own nothing but Kat. Hope you enjoy!)

...

Part 5

...

"You're late." Captain Pike noted with little concern as Kat briskly entered the bridge of the Enterprise reporting in.

"My apologies, Captain." Katarina briefly met Spock's gaze before turning her attention to the data in front of her. " I was held up at the Medical Bay."

This roused Spock's attention.

"Are you not well, Ambassador?" He inquired as usual in his soft, prim seemingly uncaring tone though Kat could always see right through him.

"Quite well, thank you. It was just a precautionary exam. Shall we proceed?" She directed her question at Captain Pike.

"Very well. Pilot proceed to activate the ship's main engines. You are cleared for take off." Pike settled back into his seat.

Spock swiveled back around at his post, hands poised over the holo-keypad as the pilot consented the order.

"Yes Sir." He reached to pull down on the warp speed propeller. The ship jerked forward as the engines ignited, but to the immense surprise of the bridge crew it did not leave the docking area after the others.

Kat and Spock turned slightly in their seats.

"Lieutenant?" Captain Pike glanced warily behind him. "Where is Helmsman McKenna?"

"He has lung worm, Sir. He couldn't report to his post." A nearby controlsman answered almost readily to the Captain's question as the pilot swiveled around in his seat.

"I am his replacement. Hikaru Sulu, Sir." Captain Pike inclined his head to the side. "And you are also a pilot, correct?" He questioned.

Sulu nodded his head. "Oh very much so, Sir." He turned back to fiddle with the launch controls. "I'm..not sure what's wrong." He flipped on a ship monitor screen.

"Well is the parking brake on?" Captain Pike asked.

Sulu shook his head. "Uh no Sir. I'll figure it out-."

"Are the fuel generators empty?" Kat cut him off.

"No Ma'am. I do believe-."

"Did you disengage the external intial dampler?" Spock asked without missing a beat. A short silence fell over the bridge at this and Kat saw the young pilot's shoulders drop in a manner that was defeated and somewhat embarrassed as he reached to hit the appropriate switches.

"Ready for warp, Sir." He responded after a minute. Kat turned back around in her seat as a soft humming began to fill the ship.

"Let's punch it then." Pike settled back in his seat. Sulu wordlessly reached for the warp switch and pushed it forward.

Kat waited till the ship was floating in a constant setting of speed before pulling up a communications link to Vulcan.

As Ambassador and not to mention daughter in law to one of Vulcan's highest officials, Kat knew it was her duty to attempt to contact them first in order to assure the Vulcan Order of Starfleet's response to the distress message.

"Ah, Ambassador Kirk. How good it is to see you at this time." The Prime Minister of Vulcan spoke cordially yet pleasantly as he answered Kat's transmission.

Kat nodded her head. "Of course, Prime Minister. Please inform the Council that Starfleet has recieved your distress call and we are currently making way to assist and rescue your people." She sat up in her seat, faintly aware of the message Chekov was broadcasting over the ship's intercom.

"Very good, Ambassador. I will relay your message and await your arrival. Thank you for making contact." The Prime Minister bowed then reached to disconnect the transmission. Kat smiled.

"Thank you, Prime Minister." She sat back in her seat and sighed as the screen before her went blank. She hoped they would get to Vulcan in time.

Just the thought of her dear Mother and Father-in-law in danger was enough to make her heart start to race a little again though not at an alarming rate like before.

"You seem unwell, Ambassador." Spock's calm and seemingly emotionless voice caught her off guard slightly.

"Not at all, Commander. On the contrary I've never been better." Kat smiled slightly as she leaned back against the flexible spine of her chair, recalling what Dr. Ferrell had told her just moments before she had arrived at the Enterprise.

Spock's eyebrows rose a little at the unusual glow he heard in her voice. "I beg your pardon, Ambassador, but pray what do you mean by that?"

Kat started to elaborate, suddenly eager to relate the news when the entry way into the Bridge whooshed suddenly open and three pairs of frantic footsteps thundered onto the deck.

"Jim! Stop! I mean it! You're going to make your symptoms worse!" Bones panted as Uhura almost crashed right into him. Captain Pike stood abruptly from his seat upon noticing them.

"Kirk! How the h*** did you get aboard this ship?" He looked from Jim to Bones and Uhura looking for an explanation.

Spock quickly rose from his seat.

"Sir, this man is under the effects of a severe reaction to a hypo-vaccination. I'll accept full responsibility for his presence." Bones tried to be direct, but Jim deflected his efforts.

"Captain, you have to stop the ship! We're headed for a trap!"

"A trap?" Captain Pike seemed incredulous. "Cadet Kirk, I think you've had enough public attention for one day! McCoy please escort him back to Medical Bay!" He turned to return to his seat.

Bones started to reach for his friend by the arm, but Jim reluctantly pulled away. "No Sir! You don't understand! You have to listen to me! Vulcan isn't experiencing a natural disaster! It's being attacked by Romulans! We have to stop the ship!" He insisted.

This made Kat turned her attention to the arguement. "Romulans?" She asked, though no one even twitched in her direction.

"Captain! Cadet Kirk is not cleared to be aboard this ship. I suggest immediate action be taken to ensure-." Spock started to cut in, but Jim only fired back harder.

"Try it! This Cadet is trying to save the ship!" He spat silencing everyone save for Spock on the bridge.

"By recommending a full scale halt in the middle of warpspeed during a rescue mission? On what facts, Cadet do you ground these allegations?" He furrowed his eyebrows in evident disapproval of Jim's actions.

Kat watched Jim take a deep breath. "That same anomaly you spoke of earlier, the lightening storm in space also occured on the night of my birth, before a Romulan vessel attacked the U.S.S. Kelvin and its occupants. You know that Sir, I read your dissertation." He added quietly to the Captain.

"It's true Sir." Kat put in before Spock could continue to argue. Despite how young she was the night her little brother was born, Kat could remember clearly the chaos of that one final voyage the Kelvin had made.

She certainly couldn't forget what she had seen or heard that night after the Captain died on his way to negotiate peace terms with the Romulan leader. The terrible prongs protuding from the ship. The way the Kelvin had shook and crumbled terribly under the weight of enemy fire.

The explosions...the screams...

"Ambassador Kirk-." Captain Pike started to reprimand her, but Jim cut him off.

"That ship, which was in possession of formidable advanced weaponry was neither seen or heard from again until last night when there was an attack. 47 Klingon warbirds Sir, were destroyed by Romulans, and they were all in one ship! One massive ship!"

Captain Pike held up a hand to silence him. "And you know of this Klingon attack, how?" He asked, his voice quiet and stiff with disapproval.

Jim's gaze moved immediately to Uhura.

"Sir, I intercepted and translated the message myself. Kirk's report is accurate." The younger lieutenant spoke quietly though her statement finally had her superiors listening to their plight.

Kat exhaled softly.

"Sir, if you continue to warp on, we'll be exiting into a trap. The Romulans will be waiting I promise you." Jim added on. The seriousness in his gaze surprised Kat a little.

"The Cadet's logic is sound." Spock concluded a bit reluctantly after a while as he stepped away from Jim to address the Captain."And as Lieutentant Uhura is unmatched in xenolinguistics we would be wise to accept her conclusion."

Pike nodded his head in agreement with him. "Very well then. Lieutenant Uhura, you are fluent in Romulan, am I correct?" He asked, taking on his normal commandeering tone as he made eye contact with Uhura.

"Yes Sir, all three dialects." The Cadet smiled proudly. Kat smiled too. "Good, then search the area for any type of Romulan transmissions and intercept them immediately for a full scan." Pike motioned vaguely with his arm towards the Communications Panel on his left.

Uhura nodded and eagerly set to her new task while the Captain resumed his former post at his seat. "Ambassador Kirk, if you would please recontact the Prime Minister of Vulcan."

Kat nodded her head and turned to resume her duties. "Right away, Sir." She sat back in her chair and swiveled back around to face her monitor.

"Captain? I'm not detecting any Romulan Transmissions. Or transmissions of any kind in the area." Uhura spoke up a few minutes later worried.

Kat frowned as an error message flashed onto her screen. "She's right, Sir. My communication with the Prime Minister of Vulcan isn't going through either. Something's wrong or blocking the transmission." She frowned and tried again to enter the transmission code.

"No it's because they're being attacked." Jim answered bluntly earning a cautionary look from Bones.

Captain Pike sank into his chair. "Shields up. Red alert." He ordered just as the ship dropped out of warp speed.

Kat grabbed onto the control board as the ship rattled to a halt. "Holy..." One of the navigators swore under his breath as dilapidated remains of the other ships whizzed hazardously around the Enterprise.

Uhura gasped and Bones paled hardening his expression as Captain Pike shouted his next orders. "Emergency evasive! Drop us right under it, Mr. Sulu!"

"Yes Sir!" The young pilot scrambled to tighten his control over the ship. Kat gasped as she peered around his shoulder and saw the debris fly past the main window screen.

Every one of those vessels once carried a crew of Starfleet officers and cadets many of whom where Kat's co-workers, friends and students.

Now they were all gone. Dead. Slaughtered like pigs before the harvest.

"Sir! They're firing at us!" Sulu's voice climbed as he desperately wrestled with the controls in front of him.

Kat started to reach for her restaints when the ship took fire, causing enough damage and impact to cause her to fall forward from her chair.

"Kat!" Jim scrambled across the bridge as the firing continued. Kat grabbed onto the arm of her chair just as Jim reached her side.

"I'm fine!" She pushed him away though not as harshly as she usually did and pulled herself back into her seat. The firing stopped just as she hit the button releasing her restraint bands.

Spock gazed from the direction of the Kirks to the Captain just as a transmission signal cut through the sizzling quiet.

"Captain, we're being hailed." Uhura reported from her seat at the Communcations board. Pike waved for her to bring up the transmission and the face of a very powerful looking Romulan appeared on the screen.

"Hello." The Romulan cocked his head to the side. Pike leaned back in his seat studying the Romulan before giving a response. "I'm Captain Christopher Pike to whom am I speaking?" He asked quite calmly given the current circumstances.

The Romulan gave a little nod. "Hi Christopher I'm Nero." He stated as if verifying his order at a fast food restaurant.

Kat suppressed a shiver at the coldness she saw in his eyes.

"You've declared war on the federation. Withdraw. I will agree to arrange a private conference with Romulan leadership at a neutral location." Pike started to negotiate but Nero cut him off.

"I do not speak for the empire! I stand alone as does your Vulcan crew member." He turned his gaze away from Pike. "Isn't that right, Spock?"

Kat, Jim and Bones turned to face Spock at his statement. Spock rose from his chair. "Pardon me, I do not believe you and I were formally acquainted." He raised an eyebrow confused at the Romulan.

Kat looked up at him as he stopped right next to her station behind Pike's chair.

"No we're not...not yet." Nero paused sitting back in his chair away from the screen. "There is something I'd like you to see, Spock." He smiled slightly causing a shiver to race up Kat's spine.

This was the same man who killed her Father. He killed almost the entire crew of the U.S.S. Kelvin and he almost killed her and her Mother and Brother as well.

She'd have to be the biggest fool on the west side of the galaxy to trust a single drop of the cordialty she could hear in the Romulan's voice.

"Spock," She started to address her husband, when Nero cut in again.

"Captain Pike, your transporter has been disabled." The Romulan swiftly returned his attention to Pike. "As you can see by the remains of the rest of your armada you have no choice. You will man a shuttle and come aboard the Narada for negotiation. That is all."

Nero cut the transmission leaving the rest of the crew to contemplate his offer in silence.

"Sir, he'll kill you. You know that." Jim finally spoke up despite his rank as Kat undid her restraints.

"Your survival is unlikely." Spock agreed. Kat bit her lip. "Sir, with all due respect," She raised her hand. "I'm afraid we'd gain nothing from diplomacy at this point. Going over to that ship is a mistake." She pleaded softly with the Captain whilst still maintaining most of her dignity as a high ranking Starfleet official.

Spock nodded his head.

"I too agree, you should rethink your strategy." He put in, his dark almond shape eyes portraying concern as the Captain rose from his seat.

"I understand." He glanced briefly over at his highest ranking officers then turned to exit the bridge.

"I need officers with training in high level hand to hand combat." He stated blatantly telling Spock and Kat in not so many words that he intended to meet with Nero.

Kat felt her heart sink.

"I have training Sir." Sulu raised his hand. Pike nodded his head at him. "Good. Jim Kirk you're coming with me too. You're not supposed to be here anyway. Chekov, you have the con." He ordered before exiting from the bridge.

"Aye Sir!" Chekov confirmed his orders and leaned forward to check their position while Jim and Sulu followed the Captain out to the shuttle bay.

Spock turned to follow their example, but not before he gave his wife a soft look over his shoulder.

Kat nodded reassuring him before turning to reassume her post.

The doors slid noisely shut behind him.

...


	6. Chapter 6

(Chapter 6. Hope you like it :) I own nothing but Kat.)

...

Part 6

...

_**Transmission interrupted. **_"Blast it!" Kat punched the holopad with the edge of her knuckles, glaring at the screen as an error message blinked mockingly in front of her.

_**Transmission interrupted. Message cannot be sent.**_

"Ambassador Kirk!" Spock briskly re-entered the bridge. Kat swiveled sharply in her seat. "Yes Comma...Captain!" She quickly corrected herself upon realizing that her husband had returned alone to assume command.

That could mean only one thing in a situation like this.

"Have you been able to make contact with the Vulcan High Council?" Spock quickly assumed the Captain's seat confirming Kat's suspicions as a brief glint of worry flashed across his eyes.

Kat shook her head.

"Negative. Until we deactivate the drill there's no way I'll be able to re-communicate with the Prime Minister. I'm being blocked on every access! Every radiowave..." She turned to give Spock a soft apologetic look knowing despite the mask of cold indifference he wore that he was thinking of his family. _Their family._

"I'm sorry."

"Very well." Spock nodded his head not missing a beat. "Then-."

"Captain!" Chekov interrupted the conversation. "Captain! The jumpers have just been released from the shuttle! Current altitude at 6000 meters."

Kat leaned forward in her seat.

"Bring up the video!" Spock immediately nodded to the young ensign all tell tale signs of emotion and distress quickly smoothed from his demeanor as he leaned forward in his seat.

"Approaching the platform at 5800 meters!" Chekov reported again as the three indicators marking the position of the three space jumpers moved steadily down to the drill machine below.

Kat pulled up a miniature chart on her own console.

"This is Kirk to Enterprise! Entering the atmosphere at 4800 meters!" Jim's voice cracked through the speakers after a few more minutes had passed.

Kat took a deep breath and zoomed in on Jim's signal.

"3000 meters!" Chekov reported again. "Mmm..." Kat groaned becoming suddenly nauseous as Sulu COMMed in to confirm Chekov's report.

Spock's eyes twitched sharply in her direction.

"Deploy chutes!" Jim cut in, interuptting whatever the Acting Captain had been about to say. Kat looked up and adjusted the position of her COMM as the whooshing of thick fabric and cables filtered into the ship's speakers.

"Engineer Olson! Please activate and deploy your landing chute." Spock ordered calmly, noticing the warning indicator almost instantly as he redirected his attention to the three space jumpers again.

Uhura rolled her eyes at the cheering that answered him.

"Come on, Olson! Pull your chute!" Jim tried to shout over the noise of the wind pushing against his space chute.

"Olson! Pull your chute!" Sulu chimed in.

Kat watched and zoomed back out on her computer as the jumpers drew near the 1000 meters mark, close enough to the drilling platform to either land or miss depending on the circumstances.

"1000 meters!" Olson reported in, finally deploying his chute as he passed the mark.

Kat turned away from the screen, pretending to check the transmission converters on her computer station when the red indicator blinked and went out dying away with the sound of Olson's terrified screams.

"O..Olson is gone, Sir!" Chekov exclaimed, readjusting the view on the main screen. The color drained from Uhura's face.

"Ambassador Kirk, are you all right?" She asked, drawing Spock's attention away from the space jumpers.

Kat immediately straightened in her seat. "I'm fine, Lieutenant. Back to your post." She pulled rank, avoiding Spock's gaze as she let her hand drop away from her mouth.

Spock frowned, redirecting his attention back to the main screen as Jim's indicator hit the platform first.

"Kirk has landed Sir!" Chekov smiled confirming what was shown on screen. Kat smiled and bent over her own console. "Excellent."

She fiddled with the controls checking the transmission signal before bringing up a life line frequency chart.

_All right Little Brother. Don't screw this up._ She zeroed in on Jim, not noticing the look Spock was giving her from the corner of his eye.

...

"The jamming signal's gone! Communications have been re-established! Ambassador Kirk, can you re-connect with Vulcan?" Uhura turned eagerly around in her chair.

Kat nodded her head at her former student. "Affirmative. Attempting contact with the Vulcun High Council now." She hit the proper key combination.

A few seconds later, her Father In Law Sarek appeared on the screen. "Katarina." His greeting was solemn, serious yet Kat felt greatly relieved to see him.

"Ambassador Sarek, this is Ambassador Kirk. Please inform the Prime Minister that a rescue attempt is currently underway. Stand by for assistance." She started to end the transmission.

"I will pass on your message. Thank you, Ambassador Kirk." Sarek nodded his head using her professional name as he ended the transmission. Kat smiled concealingly at him.

"Thank you, Ambassador Sarek."

"Chekov, run gravitational sensors. I want to know what they're doing to the planet!" Spock turned to order the Ensign his tone firm and colorless as always.

"Aye Commander!...Ah! Captain! Sorry! Captain!" Chekov hastily corrected himself.

Kat turned when she felt Spock's gaze on her.

"Kirk to Enterprise! They just launched something towards the planet from the ship! Do you copy Enterprise?" Jim suddenly came over the COMM shouting as he struggled to be heard over the noise of the Vulcan wind.

Kat leaned over her husband's shoulder. "Captain! Gravitational sensors are off the chart! If my calculations are correct, that pod they released is creating a singularity that will..consume the planet." Chekov turned from his computer to report to the Captain.

Kat felt the blood drain from her face at the horrible implications behind Chekov's report as Spock quickly registered what the Ensign was saying.

"They're creating a black hole at the center of Vulcan?"

Chekov nodded his head at him. "Aye Sir."

"How long does the planet have?" Kat asked, thinking immediately of her in-laws.

Chekov practically wilted into his chair. "Minutes Ma'am...Minutes." He shook his head.

Spock sprang from his seat.

"Alert Vulcan Command Center to signal a planetwide evacuation! All channels! All frequencies! Maintain a standard orbit!" He gave the order to Kat before heading to the exit at the back of the bridge.

Realizing what he was about to do, Kat got up to follow him, ordering Uhura to take over her duties temporarily before entering the turbo lift just minutes before Spock could close the door.

"Spock wait! Where do you think you're going? Please don't tell me you're planning on going down there to evacuate everyone yourself!" She tried to hide her worry behind a mask of indignance, but it proved futile to her husband.

"I must evacuate the Vulcan High Council. They are tasked with with protecting our cultural history and they will be in the Katrik Arc. My parents will be among them." He seemed calm and certain of his duty.

Kat did not feel relieved in the slightest.

"Let me come with you." She pleaded, hitting a button on the control panel before placing her hands on Spock's shoulders. "You'll never get them all out on your own, Spock. You need my help! I know the planet as well as any Vulcan does."

"Kat." Spock gently removed her hands from him as the lift carried them down to the lower levels.

"That is impossible and highly illogical of you. You must remain here and stay in contact with the Vulcan High Council until I make my return." He turned to leave the lift as the doors opened reaching the transporter level.

Kat stepped into his path. "Spock?" She gently grabbed his arm preventing him from leaving her despite the urgency of the situation.

"Ambassador Kirk, I must ask that you-."

"Be careful." Kat cut him off, relinquishing her grip albeit reluctantly as Chekov's voice filtered cracklingly through the speakers.

"I will." Spock nodded his head quite agreeably.

"Promise me." Kat spoke through clenched teeth swallowing hard as people rushed to and fro behind them frantically.

Spock cocked his head to the side. "Ambassador, considering the current circumstances-."

"Just promise!" Kat raised her voice slightly. Spock raised an eyebrow at the break he heard in her voice.

"Ambassador...is there something you'd like to tell me?" He asked, curious as he folded his arms lightly behind his back.

Kat struggled for a minute to respond to him. "...Later." She forced on a smile. "The planet's running out of time."

Spock straightened his posture at that. "Kat..." He started to protest, but Kat cut him off with a kiss. "Just go...Amanda and Sarek need you now more than I do. I'll stay here and monitor your frequency." She promised.

Spock's gaze softened at that. "I _will_ be back." He softly insisted. Kat nodded her head.

"You'd better." She responded, stepping back into the lift before closing the doors. Spock waited till the lift started traveling back to the bridge before turning to sprint to the Transporter Chamber.

...


	7. Chapter 7

(Chapter 7. Hope you like it. It's a bit on the heavy side, but I still had fun writing it. :) I own nothing but Kat.)

...

Part 7

...

"His pulse rate is accelerating." Kat frowned as she monitored Spock's life signs from a computer back on the bridge. His tracking signal showed that he was at the entrance to the Katrik Arc.

"Is it?" Uhura matched her look and peeked over her shoulder at the read out. Kat sighed and raked her hands through her hair.

"Well I guess it's only noticeable to people who know him well." She muttered half to herself and half to Uhura as she continued studying the readouts in front of her.

Uhura smiled concealingly at the Ambassador. "This Spock to Enterprise! Beam us back to the ship now!" Spock's voice suddenly crackled urgently through the speakers.

Uhura suddenly became alert and Kat bolted forward in her seat scrambling with her Communicator as Chekov's voice responded from the Transporter room.

"Spock! Did you find Amanda and Sarek in the Katrik Arc?" Kat asked, fighting to keep her voice steady.

Spock's response came quickly. "Affirmative. Standing by to evacaute." He cut the communication.

Kat sat back in her seat feeling greatly relieved when a siren began to wail. "What's happening?" A young officer seated directly behind screamed.

Kat turned to make eye contact with the co-pilot Chekov left in charge, but he had no answers for her.

Fearing the worst she tried to reconnect with Spock, but all she got in return for her efforts was the sound of a terrified woman's scream before the signal cut out.

"Ah! No! I'm losing her! I'm losing her!" Chekov's voice began to climb. "She's being sucked in!" Another transport engineer chimed in with him.

The COMM cut off and Kat bolted from her seat tearing across the bridge to get to the turbo lift. Uhura started to follow her.

"Ambassador!"

"Uhura, I need you stay and make sure the rest of Vulcan has been evacuated properly. They'll be headed for Starfleet. Try and make contact!" Kat briskly cut her off, not knowing for how long she would be able to keep her emotions at bay.

Uhura recognized the serioiusness of the situation immediately and nodded her head, her gaze expressing sorrow yet hope for her former instructor as she stepped away from the lift.

"Aye Ambassador." Kat closed the doors and quickly hit the button that would send her down to the transporter level.

When the doors finally opened, Kat ran for the Transporter Room only find that she was too late and her worst fears had been realized.

Spock was there standing on the beaming platform surrounded all eight members of the Vulcan High Council. There was one empty portal though and that was the one Spock was reaching out to, his eyes widened as if expecting someone to be there.

Someone, he seemed desperate to grab straight out of thin air.

"Ambassador Kirk." The Prime Minister noticed her first and his greeting drew the attention of the rest of the people gathered in the Transporter room.

Jim turned sharply on his heel when he heard her name. "Kat?" He gaped at her, his face blanched and covered in sweat and grime.

Kat barely glanced at him or at the Vulcan Prime Minister. Her eyes were focused on that one empty platform. The one she was sure, was supposed to have brought her Mother-in-Law in out of danger.

But she wasn't here. She didn't get beamed up...they were too late.

"Kat." Kat swallowed and looked up at the same Spock did to meet his gaze. "Is she...?" She asked even though she knew there was no point in asking.

Spock dropped his gaze.

...

"Acting Captain's Log. Stardate 2256.42." Spock's soft emotionless voice began to sound through the bridge as he began to record his first log on the Enterprise.

The Vulcan High Councilmen had all been sent to the Sick bay to recieve medical attention as was Jim and Sulu who recieved minor injuries during a scuffle on the drill platform.

Spock and Kat had returned to the bridge, alone with Chekov to reassume their duties though Kat could hardly shake herself out of her grief long enough to concentrate on what she was doing.

"We've heard no word from Captain Pike. I have therefore classified him as a hostage of the war criminal known as Nero." Spock continued,no break in his voice as he continued to record.

Kat grimaced at the sound of his name. _Nero. Nero who stole Captain Pike...Nero who killed my Father!_ She bit her lip and tried to focus on the messages the other Vulcans who had managed escape sent into the Enterprise since she left the station in Uhura's control.

_Nero...who destroyed my family._

"...I estimate no more than ten thousand survived, while the essence of our culture has been saved in the elders who now reside upon this ship..." Here Spock paused and the break in his speech made Kat look up from her work.

"...I am now a member of an endangered species." Spock stared at the screen as if staring through a window. A portal with which he was glimpsing his Mother's final hours of life.

Kat started to address him when he turned off the log recording, shot up from his seat and walked briskly for the turbo lift.

Almost instantly, Uhura got up to take over for her superior as Kat got up to follow him from the bridge.

Spock turned silently to gaze upon her as she entered the lift like before, his nearly concealed emotions telling her that he was still reeling from the shock.

Kat suppressed a sigh as she turned to close the lift and hit a button that would send them down to the medical bay level of the ship.

Spock watched her movements almost mechanically until the soft humming of the turbo lift filled the little chamber around them.

"What do you need?" Kat asked, her voice soft and whispery echoing every bit of the sadness, hurt and grief that she knew her husband was feeling despite the blank look on his face.

When Spock continued to stare at her, Kat came forward and blinked back her own tears as she enveloped him in a hug. "Spock please...tell me what you need." She pleaded, cradling him against her body.

"Tell me..."

Spock finally gave in.

Kat gasped when she felt him lean nearly his whole body weight on her shoulder, burying his face into the crook of her neck as the turbo lift continued to carry them down.

"I need..." He began speaking in a soft voice that sounded different from the Spock Kat was used to. Kat felt her heart break as she felt his heart pound noticeably faster against her own chest.

"I need for everyone...to continue performing admirably." He looked up to meet her eyes, straightening himself so that he was no longer essentially crushing her under his weight.

Kat continued to cradle his neck between the cups of her hands. She smiled slightly at his soft yet solemn request. "Okay. What else?" She asked as the turbo lift neared its destination.

Spock raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't-."

"Spock, you don't have to hold back on me...I'm your wife. I love you." Kat cut him off. Spock struggled to speak for a minute as Kat lovingly stroked the curve of his neck up to his cheek and to his ear with a compassionate look in her eyes.

"I need..." He began, faltering as the lift reached the Medical Level. "...you." Kat smiled, but the expression was lost as the alarm sounded softly and stopped her husband from opening the door.

Spock stared at their hands.

"It's my fault..." She said, knowing Spock would understand from the tone in her voice that she shared his grief as well. "If I hadn't detained you...she might have made it." She swallowed hard missing the perplexion that crossed her husband's face at her words.

"I miss her." Spock gently grabbed her chin, turning her slowly until she was looking at him.

"I know." Spock reached to wipe away a few tears that had somehow escaped their owner's notice. "But the fault is not yours." He told her seriously.

Kat reached to hold his hand. "How do you know that?" She asked, searching her husband's eyes for an ounce of the certainty she had always relied on in her past troubles.

"The planet only had seconds left. You cannot be to blame for something that is clearly out of your control." Spock answered with the assuredness of pure logic, but Kat didn't feel much comforted this time.

"I suppose..." She averted her gaze. "...And I guess it'll get better." She murmured only half to herself as she leaned in closer to the man she loved most.

Spock gave her a questioning look at her last statement. "How?..." He asked, sounding strange even to himself.

Where Kat was always needing reassurance, Spock was always sure of everything since logic, as he so often reminded Kat provided for him a peace of mind that eluded most other species.

He never needed to ask questions like how or why...until now that is.

"Because...because you still have me." Kat squeezed his fingers smiling slightly in spite of herself. "I still have you...and soon we will have another to love and care for as well." She reached up to stroke his hair.

Spock furrowed his eyebrows together at her words. "Another?" He asked, bewildered and somewhat confused though Kat was smiling wider now as she looked at him.

"Yes..." She paused and grabbed his hand pulling it from her face down to the level of her chest as her grief mixed with the excitement in her chest.

Spock cocked his head to side. "Ambassador, are you unwell?" He asked, sounding worried as he watched her hyperventilate a bit. Kat shook her head at him.

"I uh...I'm not sure how you're going to respond to this..." She tried to keep her wits about her, but was failing miserably on her own account.

"I found out just this morning...right before I boarded the Enterprise and I wasn't sure how to tell you at first because we were on a rescue mission and I know how you are about distractions..." She started to ramble.

Spock cut her off. "Just tell me." He pleaded, his voice soft and somber again like before when he told her all he needed was for everyone on the ship to continue performing admirably on all their duties.

Kat giddyly nodded her head at him.

"Spock..." She took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. "I'm pregnant." She beamed up at him, tears continuing to roll down her cheeks as her emotions swirled inside her.

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. "You are?" He seemed frozen in place.

Kat started to worry when the color blanched from his face. She waited for a bit for him to elaborate, but he failed to elicit any further response to the news.

"I am." She gazed at him, watching him carefully for any sign of rejection in reaction to her news.

"That's..." Spock started and trailed off, his gaze leaving her temporarily as he attempted to process the what he had just been told. Kat waited for him patiently.

"...That is most uplifting news." He looked up to meet her gaze again, his expression smooth and unreadable again as usual.

Kat smiled at him relieved. "Yes, yes it is." She leaned forward, feeling the tears brimming in her eyes as she close the distance between them.

Spock shut his eyes and embraced her again feeling a slight tinge of warmth fill the hollows of his heart. Her lips mashed softly against his own unknowingly nursing the wounds that covered the whole of his heart.

This indeed was all that he needed, for now at the very least.

...


	8. Chapter 8

(Chapter 8. Hope you like it. It may be a bit confusing but I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for all your reviews, likes and follows. I hope I don't disappoint. I own nothing but Kat.)

...

Part 8

...

"All right, Jim! NOW you can go!" Bones huffed as he signed off the release forms on Jim's medical report.

As per usual, the slightly younger man was being a pain in the behind about having to stay in the sick bay. Bones just thanked his lucky stars that the man wasn't hallucinating anymore under the effects of his medicinal allergies.

"Dr. McCoy, I do hope you have those medical reports done. Acting Captain Spock has requested that I personally see to the comfort of the Vulcan Elders while they are to stay in space with us and I'd like to view their physical results." Kat strode into the med bay, long hair swinging as she deliberately ignored her brother's presence in the ward.

Bones warily nodded his head at her. "Of course. I'll get Nurse Chapel to pull them for you immediately. Wait one moment." He turned to find the nurse in question.

Jim swung himself uncoordinately off the bio bed as soon as the doors slid shut behind the doctor, careful not to put too much pressure on his injured hand.

"Well!...Aren't you a sight for sore eyes, Katydid." The Cadet smirked, using her old childhood nickname in an attempt to get her attention.

"My name's not Katy." Kat turned her narrowed eyes at her brother. Jim hardly shrugged his shoulders. "It used to be. Why don't you like it anymore, Sis?" He asked, suddenly turning serious behind the smile on his face.

Kat let out a sigh. "You know why." She averted her gaze and pretended to be more interested in a read out Bones had left on the table next to Jim's bed.

"Kat." Kat jumped three feet into the air when her brother suddenly placed his hand firmly on her shoulder. "Come on please, stop trying to keep me out. I'm your family." Jim pleaded removing his hand almost immediately from the Ambassador.

"Your only family."

Kat suppressed a snort. "I have no interest in telling you anything." She turned deliberately away from the Cadet.

Jim looked down at his hand. "I know...and I don't expect you to forgive me for everything I did. I just want us to be a family again." He straightened his posture as a nurse walked by entering another patient's room without glancing in the Kirks' direction.

"I mean we used to be so close." Jim continued, holding back in case he might have been pushing her too hard. Kat bit down on the inside of her cheek. "Yeah well...maybe you're not the only one who made mistakes." She chose her answer carefully.

Jim furrowed his brow.

_"Katy?...Katy, are you awake?" Nine year old Kat found herself startled awake by the incessant poking of her younger brother._

_ "Jimmy..." Kat rubbed her eyes. "Stop that! Go back to sleep." She grumbled, rolling over onto her side to go back to sleep again. Jim started to poke her again. _

_ "Katy! I had a bad dream again! Can I sleep with you again tonight? Please? Mommy's not home yet." The three year pouted and stuck out his lower lip, knowing his sister couldn't tell him to go away again when he did that._

_ Kat groaned. "Fine, but stay on your side of the bed." She reluctantly scooted over to make room for the toddler. "And no kicking."_

_ Jim eagerly jumped up onto the slightly bigger bed. "Yay! Thank you Sissy!" He dove under the covers then snuggled up right against Kat's back. _

_ Kat squirmed against the elbows on her back. "Whatever." She murmured to sleepy to care much that her brother was invading her space yet again._

_ "Katy?" Jim peeked cautiously over his shoulder as a car's lights beamed across the window. _

_ "What?" Kat's response came muffled through her pillow. "Do you think Charlie's going to marry Mommy and become our new Daddy, someday?" Jim pulled his thumb into his mouth as the question floated into his mind._

_ Kat pulled a face. "Ew no. Of course not! She's not going to marry him." She pulled the blanket over her head._

_ "But what if she did?" Jim bit down on his little thumbnail. "What if he turns out to be as mean as Mr. Kenny?"_

_ Kat shook her head. "She's not going to marry him and even if she did I'd protect you. Like I did with Mr. Kenny." She tried her best to suppress the memory of her Mother's previous boyfriend. _

_ Jim turned and set a wet hand on Kat's shoulder. "You promise?" He asked with all the earnesty of a four year old._

_ Kat grimaced at the moisture that seeped through her pajamas. "Promise."_

_..._

_ "Mom?" Eleven year old Jim stumbled clumsily into the house, dirt covering his face, arms and legs._

_ "Mom, where are you?" He called through the seemingly empty house, tripping over a carelessly discarded glass bottle as he started to go towards his Mother's bedroom._

_ "Your Mom's not here. Quit that yelling and get yourself cleaned up! *Hic*" A loud harsh voice made the boy jump a little._

_ He shook himself when he realized it was only his stepfather, drunk and nearly passed out again as usual. Jim thanked his lucky stars (if he had any) that he wasn't alert enough to beat him again for making too much noise. _

_ "Sorry Charlie." He turned to run up the stairs to where his and his older sister and stepbrother's rooms were located._

_ He started to go to his sister's room when her door flew open nearly hitting him in the face._

_ "Oh gosh! Jim?" Kat barely skidded to a stop quickly enough to avoid a collision with her brother."Katy!" Jim frowned when he saw she was dragging a suitcase out of her room behind her._

_ "Are you going somewhere?" He asked accusation lighting up his light blue gray eyes. Kat averted her gaze. "Did you forget? The bus to Saint Hannah Prepartory leaves this afternoon. I'm already late." She grimaced and dragged her suitcase to the stairs._

_ Jim stepped into her way._

_ "You're going to the school? But you said you wouldn't! You said you were going to stay here another year with me and Mom! You promised!" He stomped his foot making Kat flinch when the sound echoed down the stairs._

_ "Shh! Be quiet Jim! You'll make Charlie mad again! I can't stay here anymore and you know that!" She tried to squeeze her away around her brother, but Jim grabbed her suitcase in a last ditch effort to keep her from leaving._

_ "No! Please don't go Katy! You can't go! You belong here with me and Mom!..And Johnny!" He dug his heels into the carpet._

_ Kat turned and glared at her brother. "I HAVE to go! Now let go!...and stop calling me Katy, Jim! It's not my name!" She yanked her suitcase out of his hand and ran down the stairs hiding her tears from her brother's line of sight._

_ "You promised!" Jim started to yell, running after his sister as she made for the front door. "You promised you would always be there for us! You promised!" He tried to stop the door from slamming, but missed the door knob in his attempt. _

_ Charlie stirred from his stupor. "Ugh, what's all that noise?" He slurred, reaching to grab a half drunk bottle of booze from the coffee table._

_ Jim yanked open the door and chased after his sister, stopping only when he saw his sister get on a bus at the end of the driveway._

_ Crestfallen, he picked up a large rock from the ground and threw it at the bus, missing only just when the vehicle pulled away. _

...

"What do you mean?" Jim frowned when he heard the break in his older sister's voice. Kat blinked back the tears.

"I-."

"Ambassador Kirk, you asked for the Vulcan Health Reports?" Nurse Chapel walked into the room, handing the Ambassador a PADD with only a fleeting narrow eyed glance in Jim's direction.

"Yes, thank you." Kat quickly sobered herself and took the PADD, looking over the first read out when Chekov's heavily accented voice floated through the intercoms.

"Attention all Enterprise personnel! All high ranking Officers and Cadets are to report immediately to the bridge for an emergency staff meeting. Repeat all Starfleet Officers must report to the bridge!"

"That's us." Jim started to cross the room. Kat sighed and turned the PADD off before following him out of the med bay.

"Jim wait!" She deliberately stepped in his way before he could exit the ward. "I..I'm sorry." She whispered, her face clear and impassive yet wavering as she struggled to keep her composure.

Jim shook his head at her. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry, Kat. Seriously." He tried to argue, but Kat cut him off. "No...Jim-."

"Are you coming, Kat?" A bright female Enginnering officer nodded at the Ambassador as she hurried past to get to the turbo lift.

Kat nodded her head. "On my way." She did her best to sound professional as Bones ran past, glancing between the siblings briefly with a worried expression on his face.

Jim laid a gentle hand on his sister's shoulder. "We can talk afterwards." He said in a tone that inexplicably made Kat feel calmer again.

"Of course." She averted her gaze and straightened her uniform before turning to walk out of the sick bay.

Jim followed her to the lift.

...

"Lieutenant, have you confirmed that Nero's headed for Earth?" Spock asked, pacing the narrow area of the bridge just as Kat and Jim exited the lift.

"Their trajectory suggests no other destination, Captain." Uhura confirmed, widening the screen on her consule as Bones shifted to allow Jim and Kat some room behind the Captain's chair.

"Earth may be his next stop, but we have to assume that every Federation planet is a target." Jim put in, plopping down in the Captain's chair with no qualms about the consequences following his actions.

"Out of the chair." Spock ordered without missing a beat and without turning to look in Jim's direction.

"Well if the Federation is the target, why didn't they destroy us?" Chekov asked following up on the points Jim brought up in his earlier statement.

Sulu frowned and rubbed his chin with the palm of his good hand. "Well why would they? Why waste the weaponry? We obviously weren't a threat."

"No, that's not it." Kat cut in, thinking carefully as Jim reluctantly vacated his seat. "He said that he wanted Spock to see something and to do that, he had to be alive. He couldn't take the ship out without taking him out too."

Spock started to nod his head at her.

"But then how in the h*** did they create a black hole like that? Where would the Romulans get that kind of weapon?" Bones demanded.

Spock turned to face the doctor. "The engineering comprehension necessary to artificially create a black hole may suggest the answer, Doctor since such technology could theoretically be manipulated to create a tunnel through space time." He explained calmly.

Kat's eyes widened at that. "D*** it, Man! I'm a doctor not a physcist! Are you actually suggesting that they're from the future?" Bones snapped and Jim rolled his eyes at the idea.

"If you eliminate the impossible whatever remains however improbably must be the truth." Spock calmly folded his arms behind his back as he walked across the bridge to get closer to Bones' position.

"Then what would an angry future Romulan want with Captain Pike?" Jim wondered, still sounding skeptical as he rubbed his eye.

"Well as Captain, he does have extensive knowledge concerning the details of Starfleet's Defenses." Kat shrugged a shoulder.

A light seemed to go off in Jim's head at that. "Then we need to catch up to that ship, disable it, take it over and get Pike back." He announced, making Kat and Bones roll their eyes at his forwardness.

"We are technologically outmatched in every way. A rescue attempt would be illogical." Spock quickly dismissed Jim's suggestion.

"He's right, Jim. That ship would have to drop out of warp for us to overtake it and even then-."

"Well what about assigning an engineering crew to boost our warp speed?" Jim interrupted Kat's attempts to pacify him.

"Remaining power and crew are being used to repair radiation leaks on the lower decks and damage to the main deflector shield, without which we cannot communicate with Starfleet." Spock quickly turned to assume the Captain's chair ignoring Jim's attempts to interrupt.

"Well then what do you suggest we do, Captain?" Uhura asked, calmly from her seat near to Kat's station on the bridge.

Spock sat back in his seat and nodded in the Cadet's direction. "We must gather with the rest of Starfleet to balance the terms of our next engagement-."

"There's not going to be a next engagement! By the time we've gathered, it will be too late! You say he's from the future and knows what's going to happen? Well then the logical thing to do here is to be unpredictable!" Jim threw his hands up into the air.

"You're assuming Nero knows how events are predicted to unfold." Spock turned a disapproving gaze in Jim's direction. "On the contrary, Nero's very presence has altered the flow of history, beginning with the attack on the U.S.S. Kelvin, culminating to the events of today thereby creating a new chain of events that cannot be anticipated by either party."

Kat raised her head a little at that. "An alternate reality." She realized and Spock nodded his head at her. "Precisely. Whatever lives we might have lived, if the time continuum was disrupted then our destinies have changed." He turned to address Sulu.

"Plot a course to the Laurentian System. Warp Factor Three."

"Yes Sir." Sulu turned to followed his orders, but Jim wasn't quite finished yet.

"No wait! No! No! Don't do that! Spock! Running back to the rest of the fleet for a confab is a massive waste of time!" He protested.

"Jim! Sit down and stow it!" Kat tried to head him off, but she was no match for her brother's much more wild and untamed temper.

"No! Captain Pike ordered us to go back and get him should something like this occur after he left! Spock, you are Captain now for Christ's sake!-"

"I am well aware of my responsibilities, Cadet Kirk and as Acting Captain I instruct you to accept that I alone am in command of this vessel and its crew." Spock cut in calm as ever, but this only served to infuriate Jim more.

Soon the two ended up in a shouting match with Jim doing most of the yelling while Spock steadily lost what patience he had left.

Finally he snapped and Kat flinched visibly when he stood from his chair, causing it to wobble as he fixed Jim with the most glaring expression Kat had ever seen on his face.

"Security! Please escort Cadet Kirk off the bridge." Spock ordered, leaving no more room for argument.

Jim fell reluctantly silent as the security guards grabbed him, pulling him forefully away from the Captain towards the turbo lift.

Uhura gasped when Jim suddenly attacked the guards, knocking one of them right over her lap and the other into the stablizer panel.

"Jim stop!" Bones tried to stop him, but his pleas were falling on deaf ears. Kat sprang into action and tried to prevent Jim from knocking out the other security guard, but he lashed out on her shoving her clear across the bridge in his fury right into the Captain's chair.

Spock swiftly stood from his seat. Crossing the bridge he grabbed Jim by the back of his neck pinching him between his fingers until the Cadet passed out, crumpling to the floor.

Bones and the others gaped at the Acting Captain as he turned his gaze back to the two Security Guards. "Get him off this ship...Now!"

...


	9. Chapter 9

(Here is Chapter 9. Sorry it took me so long, but hope you like it. Thanks for all your reviews, likes and follows. I own nothing but Kat.)

...

Part 9

...

When Jim woke up it was to a blistering cold wind, a slight pinching pain in his neck, and an obnoxious female voice recording informing him that his space pod had just crash landed on some frozen outer world planet.

"You gotta be kidding me..Computer, where am I?" Jim barked, struggling to get upright as the pod's navigational systems processed out an answer.

"Current location Delta Vega "Class M" Planet. Planet unsafe."

"And why aren't I surprised?" Jim suppressed a groan. Throwing off his restraint belt, he pushed up on the top of the space pod until it opened just wide enough for him to crawl out into the frozen wasteland around him.

"Aw Son of a ***!...Really?" Jim threw his hands up in the air blinking at the blizzard as if he expected the Enterprise to be there hoving somewhere above the planet's atomsphere mocking him with its very presence.

Ignoring the pod computer's orders to stay where he was, Jim began to trek across the snow, fumbling with a tricorder as the wind whipped through his coat.

"Lieutenant's Log!...Stardate...whatever!" Jim coughed as the wind blew him sideways stinging against his cheeks as he attempted to regain his balance. "Acting Captain Spock...has marooned me on Delta Vega in what I believe to be a violation of security protocol 49.09...governing the treatment of prisoners aboard a starship...Kat by the way if you find this please know that I..." Jim stopped.

Something was shifting across the terrain, quickly in his direction. As the Cadet strained his ears to hear over the roaring winter wind, a creature about twice the size of a man with wild white hair and long terrifying fangs burst out from behind an ice shelf.

Dropping the tricorder Jim tore across the snow, slipping several times in his attempt to keep his distance from the monster. Suddenly the ground dipped sharply beneath his feet sending him hurtling down a ledge into the frozen lake below.

The creature continued it's pursuit, roaring and gnashing its teeth together in a way that made him look hungry. Jim scrambled to get back to his feet and tried to run across the lake, but his shoes made him slip on the ice.

Just when he thought he was a goner, the ice beneath his body shifted then shattered emitting a large red scaley creature more than twice the size of the white monster.

Leaning back on instinct, Jim frantically tried to scramble away when the larger monster batted away the smaller one killing it almost upon impact.

He started to breathe, thinking he was safe when the large scaley creature suddenly turned its talons on him.

WIth a sinking feeling, Jim turned and ran for it across the lake, down the other side of the ice cliff with the monster in hot pursuit.

Spotting a cave, he made a beeline for the entrance, skidding across the frozen ground while the creature closed in.

Just as the monster managed to grab his leg with a sticky appendage, a man dressed all the way up to his eyes in a fur parka jumped out at the creature waving torch and a crudely made spear in both hands.

The monster immediately released Jim from his grip, screeching as the flames licked dangerously close to its jaws. Finally it gave up the chase, tearing away from the cave with a terrifying cry.

Jim let out a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding then turned to find his rescuer as howls died away.

"Thank you."

"The Hen Gra. Notoriously afraid of heat." The old man chuckled then turned to face Jim. His smile froze halfway off his face when he recognized him.

"James T. Kirk..."

"Excuse me?"

"How did you find me?" The old man lowered his torch. Jim just stared at him. "Uh..." He slowly got back on his feet. "Look uh...I don't-I don't know you."

The old man pulled back the hood of his coat. Jim suppressed a gasp when he saw his ears and his eyebrows. They were raised and pointed just like a Vulcan's.

"I am and always shall be your friend...and brother." Jim snorted at that. "Whoa whoa, brother?..What are you talking about?" He turned to shake the snow from his clothes.

"I..am Spock." The old man finally introduced himself. Jim froze halfway to a smirk at that.

"...Bullcrap..."

...

"Don't worry, it looks like he's fine. Or she whatever...there may have been a bit of shock, but other than that I don't see any significant changes in the fetus." Bones sighed as he pulled the readout off the wall.

Kat glared at the ground. "Of course you don't." She growled under her breath, surprising Bones a bit as he signed off on her release form.

"Pardon?"

"Jim didn't push me hard enough to do any damage and none of this would have ever happened in the first place if Spock had just listened to me earlier!" Kat threw her bio bed restraints noisely over onto the side startling a nurse who was working nearby with another patient.

Bones put down his PADD. "What do you mean by that?" He asked, concern covering his inner annoyance at the Acting Captain.

Kat shrugged her shoulders. "Well maybe I'm the only one who sees it, but Spock is not okay. He's not fit to be running this ship right now especially after what he did to Jim." She sank into a chair.

Bones cocked his head at her. "But, why would that Hobgoblin listen to you?" Kat turned to make eye contact with him.

"Bridge to Dr. McCoy! Repeat, Bridge to Dr. McCoy! Acting Captain Spock has requested your immediate presence on the Bridge." Sulu's voice boomed across the speakers interrupting whatever Kat had been about to say.

Bones turned and slammed his tricorder back onto the table. "This had better be good." He muttered more to himself than to the Ambassador.

Kat waited till he had left the Med Bay before getting up from the bio bed. "Oh Ambassador Kirk? Wait!" Nurse Chapel flagged her before she could leave.

"Dr. McCoy prescribed these for you just in case. They should help with the morning sickness just in case it gets any worse." The slight young nurse smiled as she handed Kat a small blue bottle containing a handful of white pills.

Kat suppressed a sigh. "Thank you, Christine." She smiled and slipped the bottle into her belt pack. "I'm sure they'll come in handy."

Nurse Chapel smiled back. "Of course. If you experience anymore difficulties with your pregnancy please be sure to check in again." She kindly reached to open the door.

"Your condition is after all...unique." Nurse Chapel amended when the Ambassador turned to give her a questioning look.

Kat rolled her eyes. "My Mother-In-Law managed to carry a half Vulcan infant healthily to full term. I think I can manage this little one." She smiled and placed a hand softly over her still flat abdomen.

Chapel chuckled. "Of course." She wordlessly excused herself then turned to attend to another patient.

Kat turned to walk back to the Bridge, reaching her destination just as Bones was stomping away from her husband.

"Green-blooded Hobgoblin!" He snarled not low enough for Kat to miss what he said.

"Katarina!" The unusual slight hitch in his voice plus the use of her first name sharply drew her attention to the Captain.

"Sir?" Spock nodded for them to adjoin off the bridge in private. Kat turned to re-enter the lift and Spock followed.

"Are you well? Is the child-?" He started to ask when Kat closed and started the turbo lift with one hand.

"Fine! He's fine." She quickly cut him off not fooled for an instant by the calm in his tone. Spock seemed taken aback by her sharpness. "You are angry." He stated still infuriatingly calm.

"And you are not yourself!" Kat finally lost her composure, shouting the words much louder than she intended to.

As usual however, Spock responded calmly to her outburst. "Is this about Cadet Kirk? Because I can assure you-."

"Spock, don't. Just be honest with me, okay?" Kat shook her head, tears glistening unshed in her eyes.

Spock straightened his posture at the sudden shift in his wife's voice. "You know I am always honest with you, Katerina." He softened his tone.

Kat suppressed a smile. "Then tell me, do you feel fit to run the Enterprise?" She asked, matching his stare with a piercing one of her own.

"When you threw Jim off the ship...were you absolutely sure it was what was best for everyone? Or were you acting on a more personal impulse?"

Spock's eyebrow twitched visibly. "I only acted as I thought right and necessary." He responded assuredly. Kat bit her lip.

"Delta Vega is a Class M planet, Spock. Knowing Jim, he's not going to stay in the pod as ordered and if anything happens to him-."

"He will be fine." Spock cut her off. "Trust me. I have already contacted Starfleet with express orders to evacuate him and place him under proper custody."

"But you don't know Jim!" Kat cut him off again. Spock felt his shoulders sag.

"Kat-."

"If anything happens to my brother, regardless of our past, you know I'll never be able to forgive myelf." Kat gnawed on her lower lip.

"If I lose him...I lose my promise." A tear slid down her cheek. Spock started to respond when his COMM went off.

"Excuse me, Captain?" A male voice answered when Spock turned to take the call. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, but Lieutenant Uhura has just made contact with the rest of the surviving Vulcans."

Spock turned to make eye contact with Kat. "I'm on my way." He disconnected the call. Kat heaved a tired sigh.

Turning she opened the turbo lift, surprising Spock momentarily when she did not try to argue with him. "Ambassador?"

"We can finish this later. Right now the Enterprise needs her Captain." Kat smiled and reached for his hand though her smile did not quite reach her eyes.

Spock gratefully took her hand anyway. "Thank you." He nodded. They both turned to exit the lift.

...


End file.
